Mason Road Chenin Blanc
CHENIN BLANC
The very first of the wines to leave the cellar for Brookdale Estate was the Mason Road Chenin Blanc. The vines were the oldest that could be salvaged on the estate’s land when it was acquired by Tim Rudd. A true Cinderella story, Chenin Blanc is now set to be one of our most celebrated varietals being produced by Brookdale in a variety of styles using different techniques.
Winemaker, Kiara Scott, is young, full of energy, and brings with her a new world order for the creation of Chenin Blancs. We love her ‘breaking boundaries’ approach to winemaking, echoed in Tim’s vision ‘to do something different at Brookdale’. Unlike the Brookdale Estate Chenin Blanc, the Mason Road Chenin is from younger vineyards and lightly oaked with only 20% in old French oak. It presents revitalising freshness alongside full fruit flavours as a result of the warm climate and cool mountain breeze.
The Mason Road Chenin Blanc has racy acidity and a pithy finish, a wine as nonconformist as its maker.
THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS
What customers & critics are saying
The nose shows a herbal top note before pear, peach, citrus and guava, while the palate has good fruit concentration … Great quality relative to price.
CHRISTIAN EEDES
WINE JOURNALIST, 2020
Lovely tropical nose with hints of nectarine and gooseberry on the palate, guava on the finish. Great with chicken, fish, salads or on its own.
KATE STALKER
CUSTOMER, 2021
Kiara Scott is a name to watch out for! … Beautiful taut acidity. Good texture and mouthfeel. It’s just perfectly balanced.
LISA HARLOW
CUSTOMER, 2021
TASTING NOTES
Fragrant and inviting, the wine opens with honeysuckle and pear drop; evolving to an electric current of topicality, like an island storm – pineapple, mango, zingy squeezes of lime, the flintiness of rain. On entry a bloom of honeycomb precedes fleshy pear and that abundance of tropical fruit, around which an enlivening acidity sculpts and cools.
WINEMAKING
From vineyards planted majority 2016 adding a jolt of freshness. Vines from 1985 and 1993 add depth and concentration building complexity with terroir, rather than tools. Pre-cooled fruit is destemmed and crushed before being lightly pressed. Majority free-run juice is used that is settled overnight. Fermentation occurred in stainless-steel tanks. The wine is aged for 6 months on the lees. A small percentage of barrel-aged Chenin Blanc is added before bottling for added complexity.
